[StBernard] News you can use 9/24/05 - From Paul Perez

[Westley Annis]

I will be sending out information to people I believe to be either displaced
by Katrina or to people who are housing those of us displaced by Katrina.  I
am doing this to try and help us all.  I realize that many of us are getting
lots of e mails.  If you would like to be taken off of this list, please
reply to that effect and I'll remove you. 

On the other hand, if you know of someone who you think may benefit from
receiving information such as what I've sent here, please let me know that
and I'll add them to the list.

If you have a question on some financial, insurance or related topic, please
let me know.  I'll try to address it and share the information with
everyone!!

 
September 24, 2005

CAN'T FIND YOUR WHEELS

This was taken from a notice I received from New Orleans CityBusiness:

With recovery from Hurricane Katrina now in its fourth week, the number of
destroyed vehicles has now climbed to nearly 350,000. It will take at least
five months to haul all vehicles to staging areas where parts will be
removed, said Charles Brown, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
assistant secretary for environmental services.

As of Tuesday, about 20,000 vehicles had been taken to three staging areas
in New Orleans: the Municipal Auditorium, the Fairgrounds and Lakeside Mall.
In addition, the state is eyeing three sites, each more than 400 acres, in
Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.

At the staging areas, Louisiana State Police and insurance companies will
collect the vehicle identification numbers, which will be posted on Web
sites to inform consumers.
Flooded cars must be stripped of environmentally sensitive parts.

In addition, there are 50,000 boats left in strange places, such as in the
middle of the median on Claiborne Avenue near Napoleon, a once busy
intersection of four-lane traffic arteries.

 
CAN'T FIND YOUR INSURANCE AGENT


Insurance agents are people too.  They have families and lives and homes
just like you and I.  They leave home and run for cover just like we did.

Many agents and agencies are now establishing offices in different towns.
If you have not been able to find your agent, perhaps this web site will
help: http://la.iiaa.org/Agency_Locator_Web.pdf

This site lists current addresses and contact information for many of the
independent insurance agents who were dislocated.  

One agency I noted from my home town on the list is Eslava & Clements, Inc.
They have set up a Disaster Relief Center and can be reached at either
225-219-9925  or e  mailed at richiec at eciinsurance.

CAN'T FIND YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

The State's Insurance Commissioner has put together a list of phone numbers
for insurance companies.
http://www.ldi.state.la.us/whats_new/katrinalist.pdf.  If you have not yet
made contact with them to begin the claim process, it's time to make the
call.

CAN'T FIND YOUR MONEY:

The federal government may be able to help you with some significant tax
breaks.

The following is not meant to be tax advice so don't even think about suing
me.  I am merely sharing information regarding the recently signed Katrina
Emergency Tax Relief Act. This act is monstrous and this summary is in no
way all-inclusive.  I've selected some of the "highlights" I think you'll
find helpful.  For an understanding of how the provisions of the bill affect
you, consult your tax professional.

Withdrawals from IRA and other retirement plans

As mentioned in an earlier version of the "news you can use" e mail, most
people who have IRA or retirement accounts can make withdrawals of up to
$100,000 cumulatively from their accounts and avoid the 'usual" 10% penalty
for early withdrawal.  

These withdrawals must be made between 8/25/05 and 1/1/07.   The taxes on
the withdrawals can be spread out over three years.   This is important
because chances are good that your income for 2006 and 2007 won't be as high
as usual, resulting in your possibly being in a lower tax bracket.  This
gives you the opportunity to recognize the withdrawal when you pay the least
amount of taxes.

Additionally, you have up to three years from the date of withdrawal to put
the money back into the account.  If you do put the money back in, you can
recover the taxes you paid when you made the original withdrawal.   

Tax Deduction for Losses due to Katrina

This is big and a reason to do some homework.  Chances are good that we will
all suffer some financial loss because of Katrina.  Usually, casualty losses
are deductible from income, but only to the extent they exceed 10% of your
income.  For 2005, casualty losses are fully deductible and not subject to
this 10% limit.  

If you have uninsured losses of $50,000 from the storm, you can reduce your
taxable income by this amount.  Notice that I said uninsured losses.  If
your $100,000 home was destroyed, but you received a check from your
insurance for $80,000, your deduction is only $20,000.

In the case you have more loss than income in 2005, I believe you can use
this loss to offset income for future years.  So the bad news is that you
lost $300,000 on your house, the good news is you won't have to pay taxes
for a while.

 Tax Credits for Employers

All you business owners listen up.   If you hire a new employee, you will
receive a tax credit of 40% the new employees wages of up to $6,000.   That
means that your taxes will be reduced by $2,400 for hiring this victim of
Katrina.  Not bad.

You will also receive up to a $2,400 credit for retaining an employee after
the hurricane.

CAN'T FIND YOUR COMPUTER

If you have a computer that went under and would like to recover your hard
drive and the information stored on it, I have a very good friend who is
offering his services.  Here's how it works.

The repairman takes the whole tower (you should not try to remove the
drive), and you tell him what data you are looking to recover.  He doesn't
charge he can save the hard drive (the more time that passes the less chance
he has of recovering it because of corrosion). If he recovers the drive
he'll burn the data to a cd.  In most cases the charge for St. Bernard
residents will be $160.  If you're interested in talking to this person, e
mail him at rickp1023 at wmconnect.com.

***  Editor's Note
Not to take away from anything Paul passes on, but if you feel your hard
drive may have been damaged in the storm, one of the most important things
you can do is to seal the drive in a zip lock to prevent further rusting.
If you don't feel comfortable in removing the drive yourself, wrap the
entire computer in a garbage bag and seal it.  Do not allow the unit to air
dry if possible.

Part of my services is to help people restore the information on their hard
drives.  All work is performed in a clean environment and an analysis of the
drive is done to see if any data is recoverable. Since we do have a
significant investment in the lab and equipment to pull the information off,
our prices can go higher. We also offer you the choice of restoring your
data to several CD's or to another hard drive.

If you would like more information, you can contact me by reply to this
message.

Thanks,
Westley
***  End Editor's Note

CAN'T FIND YOUR FUNNY BONE

I came across this site and laughed myself silly.  It takes a picture of a
nameless individual who has become the world's most famous looter and does
some hilarious stuff with it.  If you need a laugh, give this site a look:

http://www.dougmm.com/Looter.htm

 
Have a great Saturday!

DISCLAIMER:  This e mail is intended to help those of us who have been
impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  It may contain information that is somewhat
legal  in nature or affect your taxes.

References to legal or tax considerations are intended only to alert you in
a general way of those considerations which may effect you.  We do not
engage in the practice of law.   All legal considerations must be referred
to and passed upon by your attorney.  All tax considerations should be
reviewed by your tax preparer.

Paul V. Perez
Certified Financial Planner
 
Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC
2800 Veterans, Suite 204
Metairie, LA  70002
(504) 494 3144
(225) 248 6635